


Take Off

by soulgusttheguardian



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-07
Updated: 2013-10-07
Packaged: 2017-12-28 18:44:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/995248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulgusttheguardian/pseuds/soulgusttheguardian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And yet, after all that, Alec found his curiosity festering more and more everyday. He wanted to see that Demon again. He wanted to meet it. He wanted to meet all of them. What were they like? Were they really so mean? </p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <i> Why did you not run away...?</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Take Off

The time was coming.

And all the angels were standing ready along the sides of the aisle carpet. The walls were so white, doubled with the complete white clothes they always wore, and it was almost blinding.

On an occasion such as this, everyone was murmuring to themselves with excited grins, and just outside the multiple hundred foot tall, white wood doors the boy waiting gave his own nervous grin as he listened. Most of them had seen ceremonies before but some of the younger ones had not and their anticipation was overwhelming, even through the door. Somewhere in there he knew his brother and sister were probably barely containing jumps of joy that made his heart swell. They had been so excited for him this past year with anticipation of this inevitable day. As custom though; he had not been allowed to see anyone before the ceremony today, which was something very unusual for him and his siblings even at the early hour that he had been awoken to prepare. His fingers traced the patterns on the door that were etched in gold and silver and recited his practiced lines under his breath as he thought about how proud his sister had looked last night. He had been preparing for this day for years-and so had she; more than the rest of their family even.

Now the butterflies were stirring in his stomach and his feet were itching to storm forward and run cheering down the aisle with his arms waving, but he dismissed the thought. That would surely get him in trouble.

Besides, he was 18. He was an adult now. That was why he was here anyway. He needed to impress the High Court. 

The boy took a deep breath and adjusted his black vest once again. For the situation he was the only person permitted to wear other colours than white, and it was for this reason he was dressed in a black vest, with a silver silky button down, long sleeve dress shirt. His pants were deep navy with silver-white swirls on the bottoms of the legs, over black tall bottomed boots. 

"You're all dressed up." A voice droned.

The boy glanced to his left. One of the High Court was striding towards him- white robes billowing behind him. A deep frown was set on his jaw and his dark eyes were blazing with a cold, harsh emotionlessness that made the younger Angel stand straighter. "Sir Valentine-" he stammered, struggling to keep his voice from shaking. "Are you overseeing the ceremony?"

Valentine stopped near him and gave him a once over. His hair was pulled back into a formal low ponytail under a white and red hair ornamate resembling a flying bird. "I am not, Alexander."

"Alec..." The black haired boy corrected. Valentine waved his hand dismissively and turned to the door Alec was standing in front of. 

"I am here to escort you up, however." He barely spared a glance toward toward the shorter Angel as he spoke. "Ready?"

Alec stood at attention and nodded vigorously. He held his head up, and with a hard swallow the door swung open under Valentine's strong hand.

\-----

The light of the Grand Hall was unbearable. And Alec almost shrank away at how white it was shining into his eyes all at once. When his eyes adjusted he was in complete awe of not only all the people gathered- shining in their white and gold embroidered silk- but also the huge stain glass windows depicting a dragon and unicorn sharing a nap; and a vampire and werewolf in the other shaking hands. In the center one was a mighty Angel, made of light blues; reflected in a pool of red water it knelt by as a grinning Demon. The Angel's wings were curled back like he had just landed, whereas the Demon had a comfortable looking position on one folded leg.

Alec gasped at the breathtaking blues and reds and yellows and greens and purples raining down upon him and everyone else in the room through the glass. He glanced down at his shirt, which was reflecting the colours vibrantly as he moved. 

Valentine cleared his throat and Alec flushed as he realized everyone was watching them. "Alexander Gideon Lightwood." A voice echoed across the room that he recognized easily as Raziel; The Head Angel.

Alec gulped. "Y-" his voice broke and he took a breath before trying again; his cheeks burning with shame. "Yes, Sir Raziel. I am Alexander Gideon Lightwood." He had rehearsed this so many times it was second nature and he drew his right foot back in a sweeping circle out of familiarity before bowing low over his left arm that came around to his opposite side. He gulped once more.

"Alexander Gideon. Tell me why you are here today."

Alec took a deep breath and sighed. "I am here because I have reached the age of adulthood. I wish to earn and accept my real powers and freedoms from you." 

He practically heard Valentine flinch and too late he caught his mistake. Thankfully Raziel was not without a sense of humour and when Alec dared a look, the Angel man was smiling gently from the seats way above everyone else.

"Very well."

He gestured and Alec stepped forward to the large silver circle on the floor in front of all the rows. Raziel swept his arm once more; and Alec remembered this was where he kneeled. One foot on the tip of the right cross. The front of his left calf along the tree shape. He heard flapping and a small wind disturbed his hair, and then light footsteps, and suddenly a hand was touching the back of his neck. 

"By doing this you agree to each of our terms and rules. All the laws we are governed by. You agree that breaking any of these will earn you an equal or higher level punushment in swift time." The Angel said in a gentle voice. "Do you understand?"

Alec nodded and bit his lip to hold back an excited sound. "Then I relinquish your full powers to you, Alexander Gideon Lightwood."

Raziel's hands touched the back of his shoulders and Alec shuddered as he felt the power coursing through his body. He looked up when he felt a spiraling wind coming up from the circle in the ground to see that the older Angel was smiling down at him and he moved one hand off Alec's back to extend down and help him up. Alec took it, standing in the wide wind and watching it carry white feathers up to the ceiling. His hair whipped around his face as he felt his full Wings growing and extending full length. 

The feeling of adulthood and freedom made his heart soar. He wanted to cry from how amazing he felt; but he didn't and instead he looked around with wonder and smiled at Jace and Isabelle in the front row until Raziel released him. The wind died slowly down and Alec the strain in his body leaving him weak. He stumbled to his siblings; who caught him and murmured congratulations in his ears as he was carried to bed by his adoptive brother.

\----

The next few weeks were awkward for Alec. Everywhere he went people recognized him as the newest full Angel and congratulated him or apologized for not being able to show up, or just chatted about things he should know. Each person was given a thank you and a humble nod, but Alec was not used to this kind of attention. It left a weird feeling in his stomach that he couldn't place.

When he did go on his first mission finally, he was surprised to learn just how many rules they had in place that no one had ever told him about and the reasons for such. Such as why they were not to set foot on the land after dark. He had been told this since he could remember, but the realization that Demons owned this space at night and would murder any Angels who came was news to him. The thought made his skin crawl.

He had never seen an actual Demon. When they had to come to the Angel's Place, the only people who saw them were the High Court. And likewise only the High Court went to the Red Palace on the rare chance that it was needed. Needless to say, Jace had tried many times when they were kids to sneak into meetings or the like to catch a glimpse- just a shine of a red tail or a flash of ivory fangs- but Alec had always stopped him for fear of what would happen to them if he was caught. 

They had a close encounter with two on that first mission. It wasn't enough at first to fill out his image of one, but Alec had seen just what he needed to to be completely raptured and entranced. His curiosity was bound and strung- it was something he needed now more than ever. 

The others had shielded him because he was the new one and faced him away, and yelled at the Demons to return to their land until nightfall. Alec remembered the rough and accented voice that had met his ears and had given him shivers of excitement. He was within mere feet of a Demon. Jace would kill him with jealousy.

And that was when the other one showed up.

Directly in front of the teen, standing casually against a box that was easily ten feet tall, in the shadows. Compared to the wood next to it Alec could deduct it was about six feet tall. Through the shadows he saw it's slender form and lithe muscles. Watched it's tail swinging with amusement as it reflected just a spot of shimmering red for a moment. 

The Demon had flashing claws and fangs that showed with a smirk as he dipped forward so one of them was in the sunlight; his eyes glowing yellow around slitted cat pupils until he disappeared with a twirl of his hand in a spiral of red smoke.

Alec was speechless for several minutes. The others dismissed the Demon they were still arguing with and brought him back under the assumption one of them had cast a spell on him, warning him more about the dangers and the precautions he needed to be aware of before going out again.

And yet, after all that, Alec found his curiosity festering more and more everyday. He wanted to see that Demon again. He wanted to meet it. He wanted to meet all of them. What were they like? Were they really so mean? 

_Why did you not run away...?_

And after that mission he lay in his own mind for almost a month. During the day he read books in the library about the Demons and the Dragons and the Vampires and at night he lay awake imagining the way that one had stared at him without making a single threatening move toward him. It would have been easy to kill him because of the other's lack of attention. Why didn't he do it? When he slept he dreamt of those golden cat eyes and wondered what it was like to be awake in the moonlight rather than hide from it. 

He saw Isabelle and Jace about six times over the month. And he talked to them even less. He knew they wouldn't understand his obsession and he also knew that Jace had a habit of getting things out of him. This was one thing he could not let out though. Not under any circumstances. 

\----

Alec wasn't permitted back to the land for two more months. When he did go it was supposed to be a quick ten minute trip. 

_Supossed_ to be.

"Alec, check here." The group leader commanded. Alec nodded and drew a white blade from his belt before ducking between the alley. It was a routine check. To make sure no Demons were lounging around and to rid of any that had died in the night in the streets. They weren't supposed to encounter any living Demons.

And they weren't supposed to be engaged in a fight with them.

Alec gasped as a hand clutched at his neck suddenly and shoved him back against the brick wall. The claws clenched and pierced his skin through his large white scarf and he felt the foreign sensation of bleeding as it was exposed to the air. 

He sucked in another breath when he focused on the Demon before him. It had large fangs, like he had been told, but it's skin was not red like he imagined. It was just as pale as his own, set around deep blue eyes he felt were all too familiar. The Demon was smirking and peered at him through loose black bangs. 

"An Angel!" It jeered, leaned up toward him until their skin brushed. Alec shuddered. It felt the same as his skin- as any Angel's. "Come to catch us wrecking havoc?"

Alec swallowed. "The land belongs to us during the day. You would do well to remember that." He clutched his weapon and jabbed it up with the intent to stab it's hip. Instead the Demon smoked away and Alec was left to fall to the ground ungracefully. 

Alec groaned and forced himself to stand when he heard his team talking loudly, with panic. He darted from the alley and saw that Demons were confronting the rest of his team. The young Demon who had attacked him was lounging very, _very_ close to the one at the front of the group; licking Alec's blood off it's claws. It was dressed it a sleeveless black leather vest similar to the rest of them; black pants clinging to his thin legs.

Alec joined them carefully; listening to the two leader's yells incoherently. He stopped beside one of his own and glared at the Demon boy still cleaning itself. It caught his eyes and smirked wickedly around his claw toward the Angel- it's eyes flashing with dangerous intentions. 

Finally the Demon leader scoffed and gave the others a wave of his hand that started to portal them away. They all protested but were ignored and when they were finally gone Alec let out a sigh. 

"He needs a hospital." One of the other Angels said. He touched Alec's neck gently and then the leader was nodding to him.

"Let's go back. Terence take Alec to the Infirmary straight away-"

Alec felt foreign poison moving through his body and he shuddered with an unsteady step over to Terence. He didn't hear anything else they said for how quickly he was passed out once more.

\----

When Alec awoke it was evening. Outside the window it was orange and red and the sun cast an unusual purple glow on the clouds passing at the Angel's Place's level. He had once been told the sun changed the sunset's colours if forbidden events happened. The purple supossedly meant the Demons or the Angels were acting up on the land. He wasn't sure he trusted it before, but he knew today Demons definitely had acted up. Not only being on the land but injuring an Angel without cause-

His mind wandered as he sat in the hospital bed. He didn't think anything in particular detail, but one nagging desire was pulling at him and it was urging him to do something he had never considered before.

Alec groaned. 

_Can't hurt to go once._

\----

The Demon adjustments to the land were quite what Alec expected, somehow. Red lights were glowing everywhere and bathed the whole place in an odd atmosphere. Demons were prancing around singing sloppily, performing embarrassing acts on the sides of buildings that made Alec blush. One of the female Demons approached him hazily and started talking to him in slurred words he didn't understand. He stammered something he wouldn't recall later and slipped away before her bare skin touched him again. Even though he had on several layers he had never enjoyed the feel of other people against him- platonic or not. 

A building nearby caught his attention when he heard soft music coming from it and he decided to try going in. It seemed quieter than out here. 

And he was right.

Inside, the soft music made him feel instantly relaxed. There were small tables around the whole room- which was dimly lit with greyish-red lights. Several of the Demons looked at him as soon as he entered, and he tried not to draw attention as he worked his way toward the opposite side of the dance floor to an empty booth with soft black seats. Alec tried to blend in; his black hoodie doing most the work for him and his dark pants making him appear less suspicious. His boots had chains on the sides that jingled when he stepped; probably a mistake on his part as it did catch some stares as he went, but as he took in the other's appearances he felt it was well placed after all. 

In the booth he pulled back his hood barely and glanced around carefully. He watched some Demons laughing with bright green drinks that bubbled up into the air, and others lazily swaying to the dull beated music. He saw one guy- with mohawked black hair that had bright red streaks through it and narrow green eyes surrounded by black eyeliner. He was laughing with a curvy girl in a tight dress that had to have been causing her breathing problems, under long curly black hair with a single maroon strand in the back. The two didn't look like they were a couple, but they seemed somewhat comfortable. Alec wondered if they had met tonight and were drinking friends; but at the same time they looked like old friends who hadn't met for a long time (Alec scoffed when he thought that. After all, Demons had parties nightly that most of them attended. And it wasn't like the Land was huge and impossible to find one another.). The man was looking around at everyone else in the room like he was waiting for someone (and maybe he was) but Alec felt unsettled by the violent layer over his eyes and shrank back into the booth to avoid being under the gaze.

In his silence he almost didn't notice when someone approached him, but he heard at the last moment a foot scuffle on the ground just beside him. He glanced up sharply out if reflex- reaching for a weapon he knew wasn't there- and faced a grey eyed skinny woman who had the unmistakable fangs and claws of a Demon as she stared down at him. She slightly smiled when he finally looked at her and he gave a curt nod in response. Balanced on her hip was a silver circular tray holding a short glass with a tiny umbrella in the orange coloured liquid and ice. 

"Is this your first time being let out at night?" She asked. Her voice was surprisingly calm and almost comforting. 

Alec nodded hesitantly. Was that the correct answer? "Yes.." 

"So you're a newbie." She laughed. "Not many first timers come in here. They usually run off to a party or two. You more of a quiet kid?"

"You could say that." Alec replied. 

The woman smiled wider and adjusted her feet. Alec glanced down and saw she was wearing uncomfortable looking heels. Her feet must hurt. "Well I'm very glad to have you here. Need anything?"

He shook his head and she picked up a small red napkin and placed it on his table- then sat the cup atop it. "Let me know if you do." When he gave her a confused look she laughed again. "You must be really new to the adult ways. This is a Triple Sex Cocktail. I was asked to give it to you." 

She waved her fingers and danced off before Alec could speak again; in the stiff shoes to another table where a very slurred spoken man was calling her. 

Alec glanced around suspiciously before eyeing the drink again. What had she said? _Triple Sex?_ He blinked. The Angels never used words like that. He knew sex was sex- but they always referred to it as something more romantic and _censored_ , and he was suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the realizations that the Demons were obviously not that way. 

Then he realized what else she had said. So the Demons didn't just run around. They were kept in the Red Palace until they were 18. And apparently it was normal for some parents to be more sheltering because she hadn't questioned his lack of knowledge.

"Interesting."

\----

Alec spent a large majority of the night in the building- which he learned from the waitress was called The Glo Tail. She was very friendly and made conversation with him every time she passed; even though he didn't order anything. He did sip on the _Triple Sex_ tentatively, and it did taste somewhat nice- exciting and thrilling- but he didn't really want to start acting like the other people in the building (which he deduced was because of the drinks they were getting). 

The Angel watched as more people came, and left, and stumbled around- and the music was cranked up when loads of people began to dance. Alec was, admittedly, mesmerized. The dancing was unlike anything he had ever seen in his life and he was confused and interested but also repulsed by the ways the Demons all fit their hips to each other and ran their hands on each others bodies and occasionally bit one another's necks-

He glanced away with a fierce blush. These Demons were getting more and more risque. He wasn't sure what to think about it.

"Hey there." 

Alec gave a soft shriek at the voice, his lips being half in the liquid of his cup muffling it. He swallowed down what slipped into his mouth before turning to look at who spoke.

Next to his table were standing two tall, well built Demons grinning down at him. The one closest to him was the one he had seen before with the red and black hair, and the other was more tan, with green hair pulled into a short ponytail under thin eyebrows and glowing blue and teal eyes. Alec blinked at them. The one up front folded his arms with a slow glance up and down Alec's face; then down to his drink. 

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Pardon?"

Alec bit his tongue. Demons did not say such polite words. The man seemed to have noticed his insecurity but he didn't say anything. 

"The Triple Sex. I had it ordered for you." He answered. "I saw you earlier. You have beautiful eyes." His voice had dropped several volumes and Alec felt his stomach knot. 

"Th-Thanks." He swallowed with a tense smile.

_Did Demons ever have blue eyes?_

His heart started thrumming harder and he briefly felt panic in his gut. He hadn't thought about that. 

"I'm Adrian." 

Alec eyed the hand that was extended to him and shook it carefully. He shuddered again when he felt the Demon's skin against his. "Ale- uhm. Gideon." 

Adrian nodded. "Gideon..." He murmured. The Demon gestured to the other and shrugged one shoulder. "This is Mark." Mark smirked wider at the introduction. When Adrian faced Alec again he licked one of his fangs. "Wanna step outside? It's kind of stuffy in here." 

Before Alec could think about it he was following them out a side door into a misty alley that smelled like alcohol and fruit and smoke. It was cold and he could practically taste the water in the atmosphere as Adrian and Mark lead him down the alley a few feet. The bricks were spray painted with dull colours that were fading and barely readable anymore. He slowed when they did; and continued to watch them carefully until they spun around and faced him as well. 

"Gideon, did you just turn 18?" 

Adrian was the one who asked; through a sly smirk as his fingers played with something he was spinning around among them. Alec nodded and shifted awkwardly. 

Mark approached him and reached out a hand. He pulled the Angel over to them and then stood him so his back was against the wall, and it was all he could do to not start blurting out protests and questions. Instead he gulped and shifted his gaze between them.

"So this is your first time out at night." Again Alec nodded confirmation and Adrian's lips quirked into a grin. His eyes flashed rather dangerously and Alec took one step away from him; swallowing hard, forgetting that Mark was on his other side until his hand ran into his stomach. The Angel flinched away instantly. "Out for any particular reason?" 

Alec shrugged nervously. "N..Not really."

"Really?" Adrian's voice suddenly was sharper and more serious. Not less teasing- it was more like he was taunting. "An Angel with no reason to trespass... Unusual."

The boy almost nodded but stopped in time to realize just what had been said. "What?" He breathed as be turned to Adrian once more. "An Ang... Here?" He choked. He hoped he sounded convincing. 

Adrian smirked. "Don't play pretend," 

Mark stepped closer and Alec whirled to look at him while sidestepping toward the other man. His gaze went between them both as he fought down panic and tried to figure out what to do. His wings hadn't come out, he hadn't said anything- how did they find out?

His memory traveled to the statement earlier about his eyes. Was that it?

_No._

Alec's stomach twisted violently. The Demon who attacked him had blue eyes. 

So then what-?

Alec gasped when a hand clasped his throat and he was shoved back against the wall roughly. His head was forced back, so he couldn't see what was happening but he heard a blade swish through the air as it was opened and the young Angel struggled against his hold. He kicked- only to have his ankles grabbed and forced on the wall spread wide. The angle hurt but he simply bit his lip. He was afraid that fighting too hard would only encourage, so he remained as calm as possible even when he felt one of their tails coiling around his leg to hold it open. One of them started speaking in words he knew was Underground tongue; mostly forgotten and hardly taught anymore, and he tried to catch words he had learned. Unfortunately they seemed to have found ways to shorten words and slang them, so he was out of luck. Adrian moved close to his right side, a cold press of the blade against his arm making him jerk. It barely pricked him and he whined low in his throat. The Demon purred.

"My, _Gideon_ , you're awfully tough for such a young boy.." He praised, though Alec couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic. "Have you been taught through painful parents?"

Alec bit harder into his lip when the knife started to travel lazily along his stomach. Adrian moved between his legs and stood as close as he could, his eyes giving every inch of the Angel's body a once over. When the black haired boy didn't answer he gave Mark a look like he was expecting to be handed something. 

The Angel dared to look down and saw the green haired Demon digging in his back pocket with a frustrated look on his face. His eyes darted back to his friend and he shook his head just slightly. Adrian cursed. He sharply turned back to Alec and grabbed his chin harder before forcing him to meet his eyes.

"Don't worry, _Angel_." The tall man growled. "I'm not going to hurt you, at least not anymore than you deserve." His long fingers traveled down Alec's stomach and the blade pressed into his belly button threateningly. Alec sucked in a breath and held it. He felt panic spreading through him, along with desperation and the desire to just scream and cry-

The ground was a welcome feeling- even if he was shoved to it painfully and coughed as he struggled back up to one knee and elbow. His back touched the wall when he rolled to get away from his assailants; to no avail. Adrian's boot made contact with his stomach quicker than he thought possible and just like that he was sent into yet another coughing fit. 

He underestimated his lack of adult training after all.

Mark laughed above him and spoke excitedly in the Underground tongue. Adrian's responses were just as eager; short with laced interest that Alec was slowly beginning to understand. They hadn't brought him out here for sake of being friendly as it had first seemed. They wanted money. They were after his Marks. 

_They were going to take his Wings._

Alec growled and tightened his shoulders. He was tempted to lodge a punch at their knees, but given how close they were that could easily turn bad. He slowly raised himself to both hands and knees and turned his head to glare up at them. Hoping he looked tough and it wasn't obvious he was shaking with nerves, the Angel prepared to stand and fight them off.

Unfortunately Adrian had other ideas.

Alec's knee was kicked and he fell forward with a painful sound tearing out of his lungs. The kicks didn't stop there and they kept coming from both men now; to his face, his chest, his legs, his gut. The whole time they were taunting him with jeers about his upbringing, his lack of response. One of them called him ' _Seriphino'_. Alec knew the word briefly. He didn't want to think about what the rest of the sentence meant. 

The Angel did his best not to scream at the searing pain being run through him, although he was panting and gasping for air within moments of the beginning of the abuse. He covered the back of his neck as best he could, tried to crawl out of their lines of attack, rolling between their feet and the wall and the dirt clouding up around him until he was also coughing once more. His gut was aching. One of his lips was bleeding and he had spat blood at some point or another. He didn't know how long they hurt him. He only knew how many times he pulled his eyes back to keep from crying. That was one thing he would not allow these Demons to pull from him.

Finally he heard Adrian squat down beside him. Mark continued the kicks less forcefully as his companion pulled a large knife out of his jacket and flipped it around between his fingers. Alec scrambled back into the wall; gasping as he struggling to find words. He raised one hand to defend himself while he moved away but Adrian pursued him until he was settled between the Angel's thighs and smirked down at him. The Demon's fangs glinted in the moon light. His claws curved around Alec's shoulder and twisted him awkwardly to get one shoulder blade exposed; as he ripped through his shirt easily.

His breath touched Alec's ear and the younger boy shuddered. "Lucky for you I know how to make your Wings appear." He teased. Alec grumbled incoherently an answer that earned him a slap. 

Adrian's knife moved to the bone on his left shoulder blade and started tracing an intricate pattern Alec recognized all too easy. His heart stammered and told him to flee- to unfold his Wings and run- _something_ \- but he was frozen as the ends of the lines were marked. He felt them reacting and knew they were shining with that white-blue light as they pulsed power through his veins. One of his Wings effortlessly uncurled from his back, to remain hunched at his side. Alec could do nothing as Adrian reached and stroked it- his fingers sending unknown lightning bolts up Alec's body and making him gasp out loud. 

Suddenly he felt a rag being put in his mouth; tightly binding around his head and in the next instant it covered his scream when that large metal blade sliced through his feathers. The tears did spill now. They flowed as his strength and Angel power ebbed from his heart, and he could feel his Wings weeping because with wounds like this-

And Adrian cut him for many more minutes as he laughed at him and left bruises with his nails and fingertips all over his body, while Alec could do nothing but sob into the gag to ears that weren't listening. It became obvious after awhile that Adrian didn't have the intention to actually saw his Wing off- though he did cut up the connecting muscles a fair amount. The Demon simply went about carving indistinct lines and crossings around until Alec couldn't even tell one from another for how the blood shared between them. The smell of copper was overwhelming and hit the back of his throat so heavy he felt like he would drown in it. Now Alec had a bad sense in his stomach that his Blood Feather had been removed. Otherwise there would not have been so much of the liquid that kept him alive.

"Hey!" 

Adrian jumped, startled, and stumbled back away from the Angel in the dirt. Mark didn't- instead placing his foot on Alec's hips and rolling him to his stomach as he calmly watched someone approach. Alec weakly moaned out of pain as his injured Wing brushed the bricks now. The Angel could barely see him; whoever had come down the alley; just enough to tell he was a Demon too- and groaned softly. Mark dug his heel into his neck in response. 

"What do you think you're doing?" 

"Nothing." Adrian growled. He stood and moved so that Alec was somewhat out of the other's line of sight. The stranger kept moving towards them though until he was nose to nose with the red and black haired Demon, and Alec strained to see his face. There were a few whispered words in the Underground language before Adrian cursed and was shoved away. Alec swore his heart stopped when he spotted those glowing yellow cat eyes- and that familiar sparkling red tail from that day- larger than any of the others that Alec had seen so far. The stranger was hard to see in the light of the alley but there was no mistaking it was the same one who had watched Alec that day of his first expedition. His hands sparked, curling around his fingers to hold a blue and red sphere as it formed. 

"Hey, wait," Adrian stammered. The stranger advanced on him slowly regardless. "We were putting an Angel in his place! He trespassed-"

"Did he hurt you?"

Adrian shook his head. The cat eyed Demon tipped his own and Alec saw his eyes narrow, one arm moving forward as if to punch the other man. "I thought I made the new laws clear, _Adrian_." His voice was light, even though it was painfully obvious how pissed off he was, and a smile hit his lips that seemed to only make Adrian more nervous. "Angels are not to be harmed unless causing trouble. Yes?"

"But they don't do that kind of shit towards us!" Adrian argued. "They attack on sight-"

"Because you can't keep your teams in order. They attack to defend and your idiots just launch off for fun." Above the Angel, Mark made a clicking noise like he wanted to disagree. He shrunk back slightly when the shorter man's gaze turned on him. "I suggest you both leave now, and forget you saw this young man here." 

And as if to prove his point, the sparks returned in his fingers. They danced across the air and slid along Adrian's arms before vanishing. The green eyed Demon shuddered and collapsed to the ground mid protest. Mark removed his foot from Alec and instantly rushed over to help his friend back up to his feet. Both of them scowled at the third Demon but didn't say anything else as they finally turned and left. 

The remaining Demon spun on his toes and Alec flinched when the yellow glow of those eyes settled on him. The smile was gone from his lips but he looked mildly jolly nevertheless. 

"Are you okay?"

His voice was smooth; devoid of anger, and ran over Alec's ears like the soft silk his sister adored. His wing was throbbing hard, but numb, and it was with careful movements that he managed to sit up and began to examine it. He heard the Demon approach him slowly. "They did quite a number on you there..." He murmured. A sigh, then under his breath he muttered "Idiots." Alec watched him out of the corner of his eye when he crouched beside him and began touching his Wing delicately. "You need medical attention."

Alec blinked. "Medica- _here?"_

The Demon grinned. "Yes, here. Where else? I happen to be a most excellent healer."

"Looked more like an excellent _harmer_ if you ask me." The Angel responded quietly. "What did you do to him anyway?"

"Just a small poison. If he had caused trouble those sparks would have burst into a poison that slowly kills us with great pain. It would have been rather tragic, really, but probably necessary to enforce my new rules."

Alec grimaced. A Demon killing their own so easily. Seemed rather sad.

"...So...You make the rules?"

The Demon nodded. He shifted and under the sole lamp in the alley the light allowed the young Angel to see him fully for the first time. His skin was a light brown colour- different than any Angel's he had ever seen- and reminded him of the bronze coins his mother used to collect for jewelry. A mop of black, spiked hair sat on his head; his bangs flopping around his forehead into his eyes just barely, covered in shining spots of red of gold. His shirt was a dark crimson colour, long sleeved, over black leather pants and pointed black shoes. He wasn't particularly muscular looking, but he had a strong frame and his hands (although somewhat large) were slender but covered in skin that didn't look underused. 

The base of his neck had a white strip of bandage around it that Alec guessed lead down to a shoulder wound, but he wasn't sure if that was weird to ask about. It was odd enough he was allowing himself to be helped by a Demon after having been saved by one, and there was no way he could tell the stranger he couldn't fly. That was the only way for him to return to his home, and otherwise... 

"Something wrong?"

Alec flinched at the words- caught drifting and realized not only had he been staring as he took in the Demon's appearance but also said Demon had withdrawn his hands and was crouched now with one elbow on his knee- palm pressed to his cheek as he stared back. "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. You have beautiful eyes. I don't mind them looking at me."

Alec blushed heavily. He allowed his eyes to slide back up to the stranger's face and saw he was being observed with a playful smirk under hooded eyelids. Alec noticed he wore gold eye shadow on them. 

"Ah," he decided it was best to change the subject before he got more embarrassed. "Why did you help me?" 

"Because it is against the new laws to harm an Angel- even if he trespasses- unless he hurts you first." The Demon relayed without batting an eye. 

"Your laws."

"Yes."

Suddenly all the muscles in Alec's back froze up and he realized what was going on- what had been said between the lines- just _who_ he was talking to.

The Demon's fangs shone when he smirked wider. "You have the face of someone who just figured something out." He shifted and lowered his hand to reach out and touch Alec's hair tenderly. "But you do need medical attention. Now. I suspect you won't make it much longer before you pass out."

Alec shuddered. The Demon King was _here. Helping him_. An _Angel._

The man's fingers touched his shoulders gently and hooked around his torso to help Alec up to his feet. The Angel was unsteady and his vision spotted at the edges as he tried to focus and keep his head from spinning. The Demon was surprisingly warm as Alec clutched at his arms to regain his footing; head burying into his collarbone as his breath escaped shortly. He heard the Demon speaking, and tried to listen, but his hearing was blurred and he was too tired to force his mouth to work. 

And so it was with one final gasp for air that he blacked out limply onto his saviour; the Demon King.


End file.
